Summer of the Mariposas

How does McCall reinvent the legend of La Llorona, “The Weeping Woman,” and why?

How does the Garza sisters’ cultural background affect their journey? What do they learn about their community and their heritage? How do these lessons impact their sense of identity?

What events and details in the novel have specific analogs in Homer’s Odyssey? How do these connections help to build the novel’s themes?

Consider the character development of the Garza sisters’ mother. How does the reader’s perception of her change throughout the book? How do Odilia’s perceptions of her change?

How is motherhood explored in the novel? Which characters represent motherhood, and in what ways?

What role does Abuelita Remedios play in the Garza sisters accepting their family structure?

Map the development of the theme of misogyny in the book. How do the Garza sisters respond to and resist the misogyny around them? In what ways do misogynistic assumptions inform their worldviews, especially at the beginning, and how do these views shift?

Compare the personal growth of the five Garza sisters during their odyssey. What do they learn from each other? How do their differences serve as a source of collective strength?